For nearly ten years, whenever Big Papa and I went on vacation, we’d anticipate seeing wildlife in our backyard.  At the cabins and B&Bs we rented, we’d find notebooks detailing other visitors’ observations:

“Every day, two otters played in the lake just off the shore.”

“There were whales breaching at the beach!”

“We saw a herd of elk in the field and a mountain lion off in the distance.”

“Two big-horned sheep up on the ridge.”

We were never able to report similar close encounters, until….

Rocky Mountain National Park Elk in our yard! And I mean right in our yard. On several occasions, we’d come home to find cows and their calves, nibbling their way around our cabin. We even got to watch one mama nursing her little one merely feet from our front deck.

On the days when we traveled farther into the park, and higher up in elevation, we began to see a few bulls, their antlers still covered with soft velvet. So majestic!

Take the road less traveled, Beth